Increased Demand for the First Female Secretary-General in ASEAN Gains Momentum

In a recent LinkedIn post, Sita Zimpel, a project and team lead at GIZ, has added her voice to the growing chorus advocating for gender diversity in ASEAN leadership. Sita expressed concern about the underrepresentation of women in ASEAN leadership and hoped to see the Secretary-General (sec-gen) role strengthened and made more inclusive.

The current sec-gen, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn from Cambodia, was selected via a traditional route from a small pool of candidates with experience serving in the country's foreign affairs ministry. This has led some, including Sita, to question whether the selection process could be more inclusive and diverse.

In 2021, some ASEAN observers suggested that a woman could be a good choice for the helm of the regional group's secretariat due to the dual crises of the Covid-19 pandemic and political uncertainties in Myanmar. This idea was further reinforced in December 2022, when Apichai, Sharon Seah, and Dr Dewi Fortuna Anwar co-wrote an op-ed asking if the time has come for a female sec-gen of ASEAN.

Sita named several female politicians who have made their mark in international organizations, including Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana from UN ESCAP, Retno Marsudi, former foreign affairs minister and now UN special envoy of water, and Sri Mulyani Indrawati, former managing director and chief operating officer of the World Bank. Among the potential candidates mentioned is Adelina Kamal, an ASEAN veteran with experience in humanitarian and disaster management.

However, despite ASEAN's efforts to roll out gender-based initiatives, gender parity remains elusive. Mainstreaming gender issues is still considered a "novel subject matter" for ASEAN. For ASEAN, the sec-gen is neither secretary nor general, and she will need to be able to fit in with the predominantly male leadership.

Sita suggested that searching for a female sec-gen from outside the usual circles, such as the private sector or civil society, would involve a mindset change. Apichai, a veteran development specialist, agreed, stating that there is a need to start early in raising awareness among ASEAN's member states for acceptance of the idea of more female leadership, including for the regional grouping's top post.

Indonesian researcher Mutiara Indriani argued in an opinion piece published this month that female leadership is more crucial than ever, as the Indo-Pacific faces rising economic, geopolitical, and non-traditional security challenges in an era of global volatility. The timing for the next nomination of the sec-gen's post coincides with ASEAN's 60th anniversary in 2028, which will be Indonesia's turn to nominate the candidate.

Sita believes that advancing a woman to the top of the ASEAN secretariat would require advocacy efforts and public buy-in. A campaign to start sensitising the gender deficit issue in connection with ASEAN's top post, suggesting public workshops or seminars and opinion surveys, was proposed.

Our website has reached out to the ASEAN secretariat for its response to these calls. The search results do not contain information about the name of the candidate proposed for the position of ASEAN Secretary-General in Indonesia in 2028. The op-ed, published in Indonesia daily The Jakarta Post, has reignited discussion among ASEAN watchers.